Interchanging the Moon with Other Planets to Reinvent the Night Sky

We have always been fascinated with the moon, perhaps due to its visual proximity to us. Other celestial bodies, such as the planets sharing our orbit are disadvantaged in the sense that we are unable to appreciate them visually with the naked eye. High-end equipment designed for stargazing needs to be procured for a more intimate look at these planets. The images most of us have of these other worlds are usually from elementary school science classes, or the obligatory visit to the campus planetarium.

Now, imagine for a moment a sighting of the moon, a rather mundane occurrence in our everyday lives. However, instead of seeing the moon, try to visualize replacing the moon with any one of the other planets, situated at the same distance. Would you see color? Light? The absence of light? Variations in size? To answer these truly intriguing questions, artist Ron Miller cleverly made-up mock photos of the various planets in a comparative view using a singular night skyscape to give us a visual perspective unlike anything you have seen before.

Mars

Venus

The result is a mind blowing series of visual creations that just throws out the window any perspective you may have had before regarding planetary mass. It is perhaps the most graphic demonstration any one may have seen of planetary size comparison.

Neptune

Uranus

Interesting trivia to these otherwise mesmerizing images are that, Miller took the original photo in Death Valley during the day and manipulated it in post to appear as if it were evening. Another factoid to this project is the planets are not photographs, but illustrations. While this playful merging of images is fascinating, any actual planetary movement occurring this distance would wreak havoc with issues like radiation, monster tides and abnormal gravitational forces.

“I am an illustrator/author specializing in science, astronomy, science fiction and fantasy. In addition to providing artwork for many magazine and book publishers, I’m the author, co-author or editor of some fifty-odd books (some odder than others), including several novels. I’ve also designed postage stamps and worked on motion pictures as a production designer and special effects artist.”

I am a freelance photographer who is no stranger to smudged lenses, long hours in front of the computer, heavy camera bags (and the back aches that ensued) and missing lens caps. If you know what I'm talking about, you probably have as much love and passion for photography as I do.